Comments on: Personal Finance and the End of Days

By: Tanya

Tanya — Mon, 16 May 2011 17:19:37 +0000

Very sensible response. Most importantly, have your own soul in order. Life can end abruptly at any time.

By: Marta

Marta — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:36:31 +0000

Thank you for this post, it was right on track. I believe Jesus is returning VERY SOON, however, I agree that the Bible says no man knows the day or hour, so we must live our lives (morally) as if it could be at any moment, yet plan as if its in the far future.

My advise for those who wish to DO something with their assets quickly, is to really make that a matter of sincere prayer. If assets should be liquidated to support the Lord’s work, then pray about how much, when and whom it should be entrusted to.

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:27:55 +0000

Thanks Trent for acknowledging this cultural phenomenon because even if these folks are on the fringe they reflect how easily humans can be swayed by fear and irrational thinking. Your blog is all about common sense and rational thinking so it gives me hope that the Harold Camping folks will have this site to come to after May 21st when they will need to rebuild their lives—emotionally and financially.
I know it’s a kick for folks to poke fun of these Camping followers but I don’t think mental illness is funny—it’s sad.

By: almost there

almost there — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:42:26 +0000

OK Trent, time to cover all bases and post about David Icke. :)

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:28:48 +0000

I think the principle trying to be taught here is to prepare for disasters or unfortunate experiences by getting your assets under control.
The end of the world may not happen on May 21 but unpredictable events do occur and it’s best that we are prepared for them.
Having a storage of food, water, clothes and fuel is a good idea in the case of a layoff, a disaster, or any other problem that might occur.
Also having a skill that would be marketable (like sewing, candle-making, gardening, etc.) would be handy in the case of a social collapse (i’m not saying a social collapse will happen but it’s good to prepare for the worst and hope for the best).

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 16 May 2011 13:53:10 +0000

Thanks Trent! I’d always worried about this myself and I’m glad to know I’m not alone. Some follow up questions: What if Bigfoots are real and they are organizing for some kind of mass attack? How do you think those attacks would effect my emergency fund? What percentage of my savings should be set aside for the Sasquatch Aftermath?

By: Georgia

Georgia — Mon, 16 May 2011 13:48:34 +0000

The Bible says that Christ will return at a day and time that no one expects. So – if someone tells me a date like this, I can tell them emphatically that it won’t be that day and time. They must think God is a dummy.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Mon, 16 May 2011 11:45:19 +0000

I live in NYC and the papers here all carried the story of the retired transit worker on Staten Island who spent his entire retirement savings of $140,000 to buy subway ads telling people about the end of the world on May 21 so they could prepare their souls; I have no idea what this poor gent will do the morning of the 22nd when he wakes up and realizes he is broke.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Mon, 16 May 2011 04:01:43 +0000

Also, I know some of y’all are at least half joking or being sarcastic about charging for “post-rapture services” but at any level it makes me ill that people would consider taking advantage of others like that, much less do it. Please stop encouraging.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Mon, 16 May 2011 03:55:14 +0000

As a Christian I cringe when I hear about people who quit their jobs (I have a hard time believing that God would want me to bail on my boss and coworkers even at the end, rather than serve out my commitments with dignity, but maybe that’s just me) and are budgeting to have nothing left. I figure the only thing they’re going to wake up to on May 22 is unemployment and disappointment.

The advice is good advice. The problem, if you look at it that way, is that for the scenario they’re expecting it simply doesn’t work; none of that stuff will truly help or have the slightest impact on one’s fate.

By: kristine

kristine — Mon, 16 May 2011 02:49:13 +0000

tentaculistic- great book list!

And yes, as a non-believer, I will happily take anyone’s money as insurance to take care of their pets after the rapture.

By: Camille

Camille — Mon, 16 May 2011 02:19:30 +0000

I was just going through our canned goods & extra water today. If you don’t do this, start now, because there’s a learning curve. I learned that one-gallon jugs of water are better than the 2.5-gallon containers, because the big ones leak after a while. Glad I had them stored where I did, the leak didn’t hurt anything. Also, I tossed out a bunch of canned things that expired in 2009. We plan to work on buying what we use and using what we buy so the rotation will work better.

By: guinness416

guinness416 — Mon, 16 May 2011 00:25:25 +0000

Interesting, Jim! What the hell (ha!) was happening in the late eighties/early nineties to have them predicting it so often?

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 15 May 2011 23:06:22 +0000

god and his followers are all so silly!

By: jim

jim — Sun, 15 May 2011 22:01:03 +0000

Wikiepdia has an article on the rapture and they list dates that people have predicted. The rapture was/ is supposed to happen in :

1844, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1942, 1975, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000 and now 2011. (I’m sure thats not all inclusive list)

By: mary m

mary m — Sun, 15 May 2011 20:36:03 +0000

If I thought the world would end next week the only financial planning I would do would be cash out my 401k and take the whole week off and blow it.

By: Tizzle

Tizzle — Sun, 15 May 2011 19:26:26 +0000

It’s easy to make fun of this fringe group, but there are plenty of end-of-days believers even in mainstream Christianity.

I want to say, thank you for this post. Because I was brought up thinking money wouldn’t matter much, partly because of Christ. Mistakes I made when I was younger, money wise, are still affecting my life.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Sun, 15 May 2011 17:37:09 +0000

#7 todo es bien – not just pets! There was a group out there promising, that in the case of Rapture, if your children were “left behind” this group – for a prepaid fee (don’t remember the amount) would swoop in and take care of them.

There have been such predictions for centuries, and there will always be some who follow.

I think the folks writing Trent are probably chastising him for “laying up treasure” on this earth rather than to sell it all and convert those who read his blog, so that he will “be ready” when the end comes.

As he so well points out, Jesus told us quite clearly that no one knows when that day will be. I think he is quite right to focus on the fact that his responsibility is to be a good father and to provide for his family.

By: Kate

Kate — Sun, 15 May 2011 17:03:37 +0000

You could do what a group did in the South in the 70′s when they predicted the end, according to their “gospel”. To show their faith, they sold their businesses and stopped using birth control. Surprise, surprise.

By: Kate

Kate — Sun, 15 May 2011 17:00:23 +0000

I just read about these kind of thinkers in a book: The Wilder Years.